After long months of talking about a server switch, I’m finally making the move. But with the move, there will be downtime. If things go according to plan, there will probably only be an hour of downtime. If things don’t go like they should, there could be up to 24 hours of downtime.

If that is the case, do not worry. There are two ways you can keep following PatriotsBlog.net. The first will be by sticking to this blog at its original domain, https://patsblog.wordpress.com. If there is downtime, this is where I will make all updates. The other is at the “new” site, rather, the project site, which is at the domain: http://www.thepatsblog.com.

Since this may be the last post on this server, I thought I’d highlight a few of the features that will go into PatriotsBlog.net 2.0.

With the Patriots first training camp practice beginning in just a few minutes, I thought I’d take a look at a couple of roster moves the Patriots made over the last couple of days.

To start, the Patriots released two players; cornerback Jamar Love and offensive lineman Jermail Porter. They finalized a four year contract with 2nd round pick Patrick Chung, as well as sixth round pick Jake Ingram.

The Pats also worked out one player, outside linebacker Stryker Sulak. Sulak was a sixth round pick in this years draft, but was unexpectedly released by the Raiders last week. At 6-5, 265 pounds, Sulak is an ideal fit as a pass rushing outside linebacker, although playing defensive tackle mostly throughout college, he could be solid in run support as well.

The Patriots also placed five players on the active/PUP list. The players placed on the physically include Ty Warren, Shawn Crable, Rich Ohrnberger, Darryl Richard, and Mark LeVoir. Rookie wide receiver Brandon Tate was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

That pretty much wraps everything up. The Pats’ first practice is beginning as I write this, so tune in tonight with my thoughts on what I saw today.

Willie McGinest will consider playing another NFL season if he receives an interesting offer, and he would prefer to get it from the New England Patriots.The 37-year-old McGinest, the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who won three Super Bowls with New England, acknowledged his interest Saturday during the Hollywood Stars celebrity softball game at Dodger Stadium.

“I do want to play, but only if the situation is right,” said McGinest, a Long Beach native who played at USC. “If not, I’m probably retired.”

McGinest, whose 16 postseason sacks are the most in NFL history, played the past three seasons in Cleveland after 12 years with the Patriots, who are thought to be thin at outside linebacker heading into training camp. McGinest had 56 tackles in 14 games with the Browns last season, his best performance since his final year in New England.

“There is a possibility,” McGinest said. “I’ve talked to (coach Bill) Belichick a few times. I’m not excited just to jump into camp, but we’ll see what happens.”

From the looks of it, it seems that both Willie McGinest and Bill Belichick are taking the wait and see approach to the situation.

I for one want to see how the young guys, Pierre Woods, Shawn Crable, and Vince Redd perform before the Patriots make any decisions on a veteran outside linebacker. If no one shows up to play at the position by October, then I think the Patriots should look to bring in a veteran, be it a Willie McGinest or a Rosevelt Colvin.

Ultimately, I would be surprised if they brought in Willie. I’m just not sure what he has left in the tank. I would be less surprised if they brought back Junior Seau, whose play hasn’t declined much since the Pats signed him in August 2006. However, as I said previously, I wouldn’t expect any decisions to be made on the vets until as early as September and as late as October, November, or possibly December.

I don’t think there’s any question who Tom Brady’s top two targets will be at the wide receiver position in 2009, with Randy Moss and Wes Welker both returning. But after those two, there are a lot of questions at the wide receiver position, considering the departure of the Patriots’ second outside receiver Jabar Gaffney. In the offseason, the Patriots acquired veteran Joey Galloway through free agency, Greg Lewis through trade, and rookies Brandon Tate and Julian Edelman through the draft. Also returning are Sam Aiken, Matt Slater, and Ray Ventrone. Shun White and Terrence Nunn round out the position.

Projected Depth Chart

1. Randy Moss

2. Joey Galloway

3. Wes Welker (slot)

4. Greg Lewis

5. Brandon Tate

6. (Sam Aiken)

7. (Julian Edelman)

8. (Matt Slater)

9. (Ray Ventrone)

CUTS: Terrence Nunn, Shun White

Burning Questions

1. Who will emerge as the #3 target behind Wes Welker and Randy Moss? How much tread does Joey Galloway have on the tires? Is Greg Lewis ready to step up?

2. Can Randy Moss and Wes Welker continue to play at an elite level?

3. Will rookie Brandon Tate be healthy for training camp? If not, will he go on PUP, or will he be placed on injured reserve?

4. Will the versatility and special teams potential of Ray Ventrone, Matt Slater, Julian Edelman, and Sam Aiken enable them to keep roster spots?

Training Camp Battles

Ray Ventrone vs. Matthew Slater: Both play receiver/safety, both can play receiver, both can return kicks, both can cover punts and kicks extremely well. But is there room on the roster for both of them? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is for sure, watching these two duel should be good fun.

Joey Galloway vs. Greg Lewis: Both receivers will be in the top four on the Patriots depth chart, but both will be competing to start on the outside opposite Randy Moss. Greg Lewis may be the underdog, but Joey Galloway, known for his blazing speed, will be 37 years old.

It’s that time of year; prediction season. With mini-camps and OTA’s wrapped up, rosters pretty much finalized, and still a couple of weeks until training camp, I thought I’d take a look at what my predictions are for the 2009 NFL season. The predictions are pretty intense and in-depth, as I included all records, playoff seedings, playoff results, awards, and major stats predictions. Lets get straight to it.

Over the past 48 hours, the New England Patriots have been really busy completing contracts for their rookies. They have wrapped up deals with Julian Edelman, Sebastian Vollmer, Brandon Tate, and Darryl Richard.

2nd round draft pick Darius Butler has signed a four year contract with the Patriots, his agent Drew Rosenhaus reports on his Twitter page.

The deal will be for four years, and is particularly interesting because it includes no signing bonus. Instead, it includes a roster bonus of $440,000 and an option bonus for next year greater than $1.6 million. ProFootballTalk.com has all of the details.

Butler, the 41st overall pick in this year’s draft, is the second Patriots draft pick to sign with the Patriots. The first was offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger.